Combined waist and skirt



(No Model.)

E. LEE. COMBINED WAIST AND SKIRT.

Patented Jn. 6, 1891.

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v U'NiT-ED4 STATES PATENT GFF-ICE.

ELIZABETH LEE, OF LITTLE FALLS, NEW YORK.

COMBINED WAIST ANDSKIRT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 444,001, dated January 6, 1891. l

Application iiled May 7,1890. Serial No. 350,938. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom tA may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIZABETH LEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Little Falls, in the county of Herkimer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Health-Garments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of garments for womens wear which are known as combination garments, and are designed to remove the weight of the skirts from the hips and waist and to transfer itto the shoulders. So far as known to me, garments of this class hitherto not only have failed to accomplish fully all the hygienic results aimed at, particularly the most essential resultnamely, to relieve the abdomen of all pressure-but they have also failed to be adopted extensively because it was impossible for wo.

men while usingthern to dress in a thoroughly neat and tasteful manner. Those who have a tendency to embonpoint have been obliged to discard them on account of the uncomfortable and altogether undesirable multiplication of thicknesses of fabric about the waist, and all have found them unbecoming on account of the ungraceful draping or lack of draping given to the outer or dress skirts and uncomfortable because of their tendency to cling to the limbs and interfere with the person in walking. My invention is intended to obviate all these difficulties, to increase the comfort-giving qualities of such garments, to remove all weight and pressure from the abdomen, to permit all parts of the body of the wearer to be clad with uniform thickness of fabric and warmth, to provide a garment which can be taken apart readily for the laundering of one part or the other, or for the replacing of one part by a new one, (as the bodice portion will become soiled much sooner and wear out much quicker than the skirt portion,) or for change of the material of one part or the other, according to the temperature or the occupation ofthe wearer, and to provide a garment which shall be acceptable to thoseivhc desire to exercise freely by reason of its non-interference with the person and to those who desire to dress fashionably by reason of its peculiar adaptability for fitting over in dress-making, and particularly by reason of the easy and graceful flow which it imparts to the skirts and the avoidance of unnecessary and unsightly accumulation of material about the waist and upper portion of the hips.

To these ends my invention consists in the improved garment hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, Figure l is a front View of one form of my improved garment as it would appear in use, the upper portion only of the skirt part being shown, and the dress-skirt being indicated in section. Fig. 2 is a side View of the same partly broken out. Fig. 3 is a rear view of the same, the upper portion of the bodice part being broken away. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic view showing therela.- tion of the dress-skirt, my improved garment, and the petticoat to 'one another and to the body of the wearer. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view showing more clearly the construction of the garment and the mode of attaching the other skirts thereto. Eig. 6 is a similar view of another form to be described hereinafter. y

The bodice portion l of the improved garment is made to fit snugly to the form andto extend below the waist-line 2 to about the upper line of the hips-tl1atis, about the line of greatest fullness. It may have, as when it is to be Worn by growing" girls or by persons of unsymmetrical form, elastic shirred gores or gussets 3 at the sides, the same being formed by inserting elastic bands 4 into the material of the gusset and securing their ends to the adjacent portions of the bodice. A very light dress-waist may thus be worn directly over the bodice ywithout the use of an intervening cover, which would be necessary in order to prevent the showing through of elastic laces and other devices of that sort which have been employed hitherto. The skirt portion 5 of the garment is fulled and gathered at the top, as shown at G, and is secured to 'a supporting-band 7, preferably a bias band, which is then secured tothe lower edge of the bodice portion l. The fulling and gathering of the top of the skirt is essential in order to give that flow of the skirt itself, of the under skirt, and of the dress-skirt IOO away from the body which necessarypto impart a g'raceful outline and fall to 'the dress-skirt and to prevent that clinging,` of the skirts to the person which not only would be unsightly, but would interfere with free movement. It will be seen that this very desirable result could not be secured were both bodice and skirt cut in one piece, and that at the same time the securing of this fulled and gathered top of the skirt tothe bodice at the described distance below the waist-line makes it possible to secure this result without that bulky, uncomfortable, and unsightly plicating of material about the waist which would be necessary were the garment cut in one piece and loose like van under-vest-or other such garment. For this same reason,'and, further, to prevent com-l pression of `and weight upon the abdomen, fastening devices 8, such as buttons, are secured to the inside of the bias band T-that is, to the side next the wearer, to which is secured the top of the petticoat 9. rlhe `petticoat'is thus supported entirely by the'bodice and'does not add another and unnecessary thickness about t-he waist and above the hips, the only covering over the hips between the waist and the dress-skirt being the lower portion of thebodicc, which is worn asfan ordinary corset-cover.

To the bodice'and slightly below the waistline are secured the devices l() for-supportingthedress-skirt 1l. -I lprefer to employ eyes, as shown, to eo-operate with hooks l. ont-he dressskirt. It will be observed that these supporting devices are all to the rear of the side lines of the bodice. This arrangement provides Afor holding the dress-skirt snugly and tightly to the bodyat the rear, where weight and compression can do no harm, while in front and over the abdomen the dress-skirt is given a looseness and fullness, as clearly shown in Figs. 1,2, and 4, thereby altogether avoidingweight and pressure where'it would be injurious. Nere no means provided to prevent, the dress-skirt would sometimes, especially when thewearer is sitting, ride `up on account of this very looseness and so become disarranged. Accordingly I have secured to the bodice in front,'at about one and one-half inch below the waist-line, or where the top of the dressskirt rests naturally when the wearer is stand ing, an inverted hook 13, under which the top of the dress-skirt is secured and so held in place, and at the same time without causing any pressure on the abdomen.

In the form presented in Ifig. 6,which is especially adapted for use when the garment is made up in white goods-that is, in cotton or linen-the supporting-band, instead of having the skirt portion 5 sewed thereto, and being itself sewed to the bodice portion at both edges, as represented in Fig. 5, is sewed tothe bodice'portion at its vupper edge only and has secured to its outer side butt-ons 14,

and the skirt portion 5', being tnlled and gatheredas before, is secu'r'edto said buttons instead of being sewed to the band. This arrangement is particularly desirable, as it facilitates the separation of the garment for purposes of laundering, tbc. The buttons 14; are preferably placed in'alternation with the buttons S and may be covered with a flap, as shown.

The skirt portion 5 may be provided with draw-strings, if desired, as indicated in dotted line in Fig.

Having thus described my invention, I claiml. The combination of a bodice adapted to fit snugly to the form, a supportingband secured thereon at adistance below the waistline about equal `to the distance from the natural waist-line to the upper line-ofithe hips, fastening'devices secured "to said band to support a petticoat, and a skirt .gathered and fulled at the top and also secured to said band, substantially as described.V

2. The combination of abodice-adapted to fit snugly-to the form, a supporting-band secured thereon vat a distance below the waistline about equal to the distance from "the natural ywaist-line to the upper -line of the hips, fastening devices secured to said band to support a'petticoat, a skirtfulled and-gathered atthe top and also secured to said band, and supporting devices for Other-Skrts-attached to the outside of the bodice ata little below the waist line, substantially as described.

3. The combination oi' a bodice adaptedvto fit snugly to the form,a supporting-band secured thereon at a distance below the-waistline about equal to vthe distance from 'the natural waist line to the upper line of the hips,fastening'deviees securedto-said band to support a petticoat, a skirt fulied and gathered at thetop and also secured to said band, supporting devices for other skirts, attached to the outside ot' thebodi'ce ata little below the waist-line, yand au inverted hook secured to the-front of thebodice to engage with the outer skirt and prevent the same from riding up, substantially as described.

4. The combination of-a bodice adaptedlto iit snugly tothe form, a supporting-band sewed at its Lipper edge only to the inside of the bodice at a distance below the waist-line about equal to the distance from the natural waist-line to the upper line of the l1ips,fast ening devices secured to the inner side of said Jband to supporta petticoat, fastening devices secured to the outside of said band, anda skirt gathered and fulled at the top and adapted to be supported bysaid'lastnamed fastening devices, substantially as described.

'ELlZABE'III LEE.

Viitnesses:

DENNIS-F.KELLL yJ. DANA'JoNEs.

IOC

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